The CAFE(S) framework: Improving AI agent effectiveness

<p>As AI agents become more capable, context quality is increasingly the limiting factor in their performance. In this episode of <em>Engineering Enablement</em>, DX researcher Brian Houck by his CAFE(S) is joined by co-authors Max Kanat-Alexander (Capital One), Eirini Kalliamvakou (DX), and Margaret-Anne Storey (University of Victoria) to discuss CAFE(S), a new framework for improving context quality.</p><p>The panelists introduce the five dimensions of CAFE(S): Clarity, Actionability, Fidelity, Efficiency, and Security. They walk through common context failures, how poor context accrues technical and cognitive debt, what it costs in developer productivity and operating spend, how AI is changing the skills engineers need, and why context review could become as important as code review.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Where to find Margaret-Anne Storey:</strong></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-anne-storey" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-anne-storey</a> </p><p>• X:  <a href="https://x.com/margaretstorey" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://x.com/margaretstorey</a> </p><p>• Website: <a href="https://margaretstorey.com" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://margaretstorey.com</a></p><p><strong>Where to find Max Kanat-Alexander: </strong></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkanat" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkanat</a></p><p>• X: <a href="https://x.com/mkanat" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://x.com/mkanat</a></p><p>• Website: <a href="https://www.codesimplicity.com" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.codesimplicity.com</a></p><p><strong>Where to find Eirini Kalliamvakou: </strong></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/eirini-kalliamvakou-1016865" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://www.linkedin.com/in/eirini-kalliamvakou-1016865</a> </p><p>• X: <a href="https://x.com/irina_kAl" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://x.com/irina_kAl</a><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Where to find Brian Houck: </strong></p><p>• LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianhouck" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianhouck⁠⁠⁠⁠</a></p><p><br></p><p><strong>In this episode, we cover:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Intro</p><p>(01:18) Meet the CAFE(S) authors</p><p>(03:13